Parents Just Don't Understand
by whofan94
Summary: The Salt family invites all of the ticket winners to their estate for a few days before the tour. We find that the children aren't as bratty as we thought and the parents are actually more to blame. How will this change the outcome of the tour. Wilder Wonka but Burton Children.
1. Chapter 1: The Invitation

It was a quiet night at the Salt residence. Just last week Mr. Salt's precious angel Veruca found her golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory. Well she had a bit of help, but In Mr. Salt's eyes, it was all Veruca.

After finding the ticket, the press went on a frenzy as Veruca became big news. The flashing of cameras, the cries of news reporters. All of this was music to Mr. Salt's ears. Mr. Salt loves publicity. It's like free advertising for his business, Salt's Salty Nuts. Mr. Salt would buy Veruca some of the most extravagant things in order to catch the press' attention (plus some philanthropy here and there, but he'd drop the charities if Veruca wanted him to). When the announcement of the golden tickets went public, Mr. Salt insisted that his little Veruca had one.

The day of the announcement, Mr. Salt went to work as he usually does, but then goes to the nut room for an announcement of his own. "In addition to sorting nuts, you all shall also be unwrapping Wonka Bars. You will work 5 hours overtime every day until someone finds a golden ticket. The one who does find the ticket will get a 50 thousand pound bonus, provided that you hand it over willingly."

This went on for five days without a sign of a golden ticket. A golden ticket was even found by another child within this time (some kid from Germany that reminded Mr. Salt strikingly of a whale). Things were looking hopeless until Mr. Salt heard the excited screams of one of his employees. "I found it! I found it! The second golden ticket!" she said. Mr. Salt got out of his office immediately to retrieve the ticket, which the woman gave almost reluctantly.

However, after the third ticket was found, the press for the Salts died down considerably. Now there were only passing mentions of Veruca in the paper and not a single mention of Salt's Salty Nuts. So much for the free publicity now. Now Mr. Salt would have to resort to buying extravagant things for Veruca again. Perhaps a panda fur coat.

But on this quiet night, all the Salts were watching as a news team was interviewing the fifth golden ticket winner, a young british boy named Charlie Buckets, whose clothing looked as if it was sewn together from rags from a rubbish bin. "So how many Wonka Bars did you have to eat in order to find the ticket, Charlie?" The reporter asked in a falsely sweet voice.

Charlie looked nervous, as if he didn't know what to say. Probably camera shy. "Um, just three ma'am," he finally said. The reporter laughed as if the comment was some sort of joke.

Mr. Salt watched the boy with pity. If you ask him, he should relish the fame. He will only have it for so long as part of the common folk. After the tour, he'll probably go back to his normal life and fade into obscurity.

Veruca saw differently though. The boy was obviously not used to being famous. He looked kind of lonely too, kind of like her. Veruca never had many friends. They were all jealous that she was rich. Maybe she and Charlie could be friends. Heck, maybe all five of them could be friends. That gave Veruca an idea. "Daddy, could you have all the other winners over for a couple of nights before the tour?"

Mr. Salt thought about this for a moment. All of the ticket winners under one roof and the Salts would be hosting. This would be publicity galore. "Of course Veruca dear. Anything for you," He said with a smile.

It was a particularly cold January day in the Bucket household, but the cold did nothing to freeze the spirits of young Charlie Bucket, or of his Grandpa Joe, who Charlie chose to bring with him to Willy Wonka's factory. Charlie's mum and dad noticed this as well, and were glad that Charlie was so happy. Lord knows that if any child deserved to be happy, it was Charlie. The young lad couldn't wait to finally get a peak into the mysterious factory that he always passed during his paper route. The only thing he wished was different was the reporters and photographers that would often follow him around when on his paper route. The instant fame was new to him and he wasn't quite used to it yet; but even all this couldn't ruin Charlie's day. A minor nuisance was all it was.

On TV, the same stories were running. Only a few more days until the ticket winners enter the factory, the bios of the winners, etcetera, etcetera. Charlie stopped paying attention to the TV. He was more interested in the story Grandpa Joe was telling him about Willy Wonka and Prince Pondicherry.

"But Grandpa, if Willy Wonka could make ice cream that would never melt, why couldn't he do the same with the chocolate palace?" Charlie asked after hearing the story again.

"Maybe the formula for making chocolate not melt is different than ice cream," Grandpa Joe suggested. "Or maybe it was because he wanted to teach Prince Pondicherry a lesson in humility. If I recall correctly, Willy Wonka enjoyed a good fable every now and then, and was a firm believer that people get what they deserve."

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Bucket went to answer the door. It was a middle-aged man, slightly balding, in a Black suit and a Pea-coat over it. He also had on a glove which he promptly threw away after the door was opened. "Good afternoon, madam. Is Charlie Bucket home?"

Mrs. Bucket narrowed her eyes. When a middle=aged man knocks on a person's door looking for her 11 year old son, it tends to be a rather shady affair. "Yes," she finally said. "Why do you want to know?"

He hands her one of Mr. Salt's business cards. "My name is Andrew Harrison. I am the butler of the Salt family. The reason I am here is because the Salt family is hosting a gathering of the golden ticket winners at their estate for the next couple of days until they are due at the factory on Monday, and were hoping that young Master Charlie would be able to attend. His one guardian may attend as well."

To Charlie, this sounded amazing. He would have time to get to know the other winners a bit better. Maybe they would even become friends. Sure they looked kinda bratty on TV, but maybe they aren't really like that. It could have been the press making them look bad. It was entirely possible. "Can I go, mum? Can i?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," she said to Mr. Harrison. "I don't really want Charlie to be a burden."

"I assure you Madam Bucket that Master Charlie will not be a burden at all. The Salt family insists that he comes. The gathering was actually Miss Veruca's idea."

"Well," Mrs. Bucket said hesitantly, "as long as it is no trouble, I guess that Charlie can come."

Mr. Harrison smiled. "Splendid. Now who will be joining Master Charlie into the factory?"

"I will," Grandpa said, grabbing his cane.

"Very well. When you both are ready, we can leave. The limo is just out front."

Charlie's eyes went wide at the mention of the word, limo. He had a feeling this was going to be a fun weekend.

**A/N: I've been wanting to do a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fic for a while now. Now that I have a decent story idea, the time is now. As to which version I'm doing, I'll put it this way. If you take elements from the 71' film and the 05' film, you'd have the perfect Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. So im taking elements from both. So this fic will have the Wilder Wonka, the original Grandpa Joe, and some dialogue from the 1971 film, but will have the Burton children, parents and some other aspects. Of course I added some of my own twists as well. I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2: Salt Manor

The limo pulled into a winding driveway located about eight kilometers away from London (still a good hour and a half drive). At the end of the driveway was a mansion that could fit about 80 of Charlie's house in. To the side of the house was a fenced area with a one-horsed stable in it. Charlie felt the limo stop right in front of the parking garage. Mr. Harrison opened the door to Charlie's left and tipped his hat. "We have arrived sirs," he said.

Charlie helped Grandpa Joe out of the vehicle and they walked to the front door. They wrung the bell and were greeted by a grey-haired man in a business suit. "You must be Charlie, and you must be his guardian. I am Veruca's father. Please come in. Andrew will show you to your rooms." Mr. Harrison nodded and led the two into the house.

The first stop was Grandpa Joe's room. It was a decent sized room, nothing too frilly or outstanding about it, but nice all the same. It did have a rather impressive television set. Mr. Harrison brought his bag into the room and led Charlie to his room.

They reached a room where they kept hearing the word "EXTERMINATE," coming from the other end of the door. "I hope you don't mind, but you will be sharing your room with young Master Teevee."

Charlie shook his head. "No. I don't mind."

Charlie opened the door and brought his luggage to his bed. He saw in front of the tv set a boy with spiked hair and a bowl of popcorn laughing at what was on, which was an episode of Doctor Who. "Goddamn, can you believe this?" He said acknowledging Charlie's presence. "The special effects are so bad! I can totally tell it's CGI!"

Charlie didn't watch too much TV, but he knew of Doctor Who. A lot of his schoolmates talk about it, claiming to be the best show on television. "I don't know. I mean a lot of people love it. Maybe people don't really care about the effects."

"Well they should care! Movies and TV are supposed to create an illusion of pseudo-plausibility, that it could actually happen in that universe. How can I take this seriously when it looks like England is being invaded by a cartoon spaceship?"

Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "The acting's pretty good though, I hear."

"I guess." He finally looks away from the TV screen and looks at Charlie. "You're that kid from TV right? The poor one?

It didn't feel good for Charlie to know that that was his current legacy. Charlie, the poor kid from tv who won a golden ticket. It did kind of sound pathetic. "Yeah I am. You're that other kid from TV right? The one who hates chocolate but is going to a chocolate factory anyway?"

"I bet that brought up ratings. You gotta love controversy. It makes people pay a lot closer attention to detail."

"I guess so." Charlie said.

Charlie and Mike talked for a few more minutes when Mr. Harrison walked into the room. "Pardon for the interruption young sirs but your presence is required in the second dining room by young Ms. Salt. Dinner is being prepared."

Mike stood up immediately. "Finally, I can get some decent grub. Coming Chuck?" Charlie nodded and followed Mike and Mr. Harrison down to the dining room.

* * *

Meanwhile in the first dining room, the parents of the five children were having their own dinner. Grandpa Joe was relatively quiet during this gathering, but this could not say for the other four occupants at the table. "My little Princess Veruca came up with this idea all on her own. She is such a sweet caring girl. I wouldn't be surprised if Willy Wonka gave her the grand prize at the start of the tour," Mr. Salt said in a pompous manner.

"Bockmist!" Mrs. Gloop shouted. "Herr Wonka vill obviously vant to choose un child who lives Wonka candy every day. My little Augustus vill be victorious."

"Oh you really think so Mrs. Goop. … Oh my apologies, Gloop." Mrs. Beauregarde said arrogantly. "If anyone is going to win the grand prize, it's going to be my little Violet. With her competitive nature, there's no way she can lose."

"Competitive? More like arrogant," Mr. Teevee said. "Obviously, the smartest one will get Wonka's grand prize."

Grandpa Joe listened to all of the bickering around the table and said nothing. He simply ate his roast beef.

* * *

The five children were sat at a separate table in a separate room. The atmosphere tense as no one wanted to break the silence. Ultimately, it was up to the host to do so. "So, um, thank you all for coming tonight."

"Alright princess, why are you doing this?" Mike questioned.

"What do you mean?" Veruca replied. "I thought it would be fun for all of the winners to get together. Maybe get to know each other."

"And why would you want to do that?" Violet Beauregarde. "We are not your friends. We're competing against each other."

"Ever heard of friendly competition," Charlie added in, trying to help Veruca out.

"That makes the whole point pointless. Competition is so people can prove that they are better than other people. That you are a winner and the others are losers."

"That's so stupid," Mike said bluntly. "Who fed you that load of bull?"

"My mother. To her, winning is everything."

"What about friendship and family?" Charlie asked, having an answer in mind.

"They just slow you down. You need to keep your eyes on the prize, or else someone else will grab it from right under your nose."

"So you have no friends."

"Nope," she added a pop in her p like she was popping a bubble.

Charlie didn't really have friends either, but at least he had a caring family that showed support and love whenever they have the chance. A life with no real love must be lonely. Sure she had a mother, but she probably loved her trophies more than her. "I'm sorry." he said pretty much at the same time as Veruca.

"Why? I just said that they slow me down!"

"Yeah, but when you aren't competing, don't you get lonely?"

Violet opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. The poor kid had a point. She did get lonely during her down time. She even started competing more often because she was feeling a pit in her stomach whenever things got quiet. No. She wasn't the one who decided that. It was mother. She said that pit was boredom, and that it was weakening her. she needed to dedicate all of her brain power into competing. The problem was, the luster that winning once had was fading a bit more with each win. "I mean, i guess."

"You guess?" Augustus Gloop said in astonishment for the first time that evening. Being lonely sucks. No vun wants to be friends vith un fet slob like me."

"So why don't you go on a diet?" Mike asked with little concern in his voice.

"Mien fader is un butcher. In mien family, being vell fed is un symbol of status. Mein family can afford to feed me this much, so they do. Other i know do not see it as such. Dey believe I am just un glutton, und tease me on mien veight. So I eat even more out of sadness, especially chocolate."

Mike made a sound of disgust, and Charlie looked at him disapprovingly. "He just spilt his heart to us, and you're teasing him?!"

"It's not that. It's chocolate. Can't stand the stuff."

Augustus looked like he was just slapped in the face. "How can you not like chocolate."

"Don't like the taste. It's just way too sweet for me."

"Have you ever had a Wonka Bar?" Veruca asked.

"Nope, only a Hershey Bar. Fricken disgusting."

"There's your first problem," Violet said. "You never had a Wonka. They make Hershey bars taste like fish in comparison."

Augustus reached into his pocket and pulled out a Wonka Scrumdiddliumptious Bar. He slid it across the table for Mike to catch. Mike looked at the dark brown candy in disgust. "I'm telling you, I'm not going to like it."

"Just try it." Charlie insisted. "If you don't like it, we won't bother you about it anymore. Right?" The other three nodded and Mike sighed. He broke off a chunk of the chocolate, and threw it in his mouth.

It was the most amazing thing he has ever tasted. It was the perfect blend of sweet and bitter happily married in his mouth. It was as if it was tailor made for his taste buds. "This is… This… It's incredible!"

"Told you," Violet said. "Maybe if you weren't such a know-it-all, you'd find even more things you like."

"Yeah, well maybe that's why I don't have any friends. I'm the smartest kid in my class, and everyone hates me for it. It's not that they think I'm a nerd or anything. Trust me. Even the nerds don't like me. Not that I'm complaining. Don't really like them much either. Too obsessed in their little niches. Everyone has to be a part of a group. If you don't belong, you're an outcast."

"We're all part of a group though, aren't we?" Charlie inquired. "We all found a golden ticket, so we must be a group, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so Chuck." Mike then turned his attention to Veruca. "How about you, Princess? You got any friends?"

"Not really," Veruca frowned. "Most people who act friendly with me are usually doing so to get something out of it. That is if they don't resent me for my family's fortune. I don't want to buy friends. I want real friends. That's kind of why I asked Daddy to invite you all here. To see if we can all be friends."

"Well, I'll be your friend," Charlie said with a smile.

"Ya. Me too," Augustus said with his mouth full of potatoes.

"Eh. Why not. You guys don't seem too bad," Mike said with a sarcastic smirk.

Violet hesitated at first, weighing her options. Allow herself some happiness at the expense of her mother's approval, or continue with her increasingly empty existence winning just to please her. Violet surprised herself on how easy the decision was. A decision to do something for herself for once. "Yeah. Count me in."

Mike looked at Charlie. "So do you have any friends besides us, Chuck?"

Charlie shook his head. "Not really. I've always kind of been the quiet one. I'm too shy to really talk to many kids in school."

Mike laughed. "It's always the quiet ones."

Charlie was puzzled by this. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well in movies, the quiet ones are often the wiser, more humble ones of the group, while the louder ones are the arrogant ones. Either that or the quiet ones are serial killers." The last bit caught Charlie off guard when he was taking a sip of water, which caused him to go into a coughing fit. They all laughed at Charlie's expense, who blushed. "Now that I think about it, you do kinda look like Norman Bates."

"Oh, rubbish!" Veruca said, still laughing. "Why, he wouldn't even harm a fly!"

"I don't know," Violet said. "His hand is dangerously close to that knife."

"Oh no!" Augustus feigned fear. "He vill go for me first! I'm sure of it!"

Charlie smirked. "No. Not you Augustus. I'd go for Mike first. Take out the expert first so the rest of you are helpless." The last bit he said with a completely straight face. After a few tense seconds of the others wondering if he was serious or not, Charlie burst into laughter, which spread across the room.

"What did I say!" Mike said. "Wise beyond his years!" The five continued their banter throughout their meal, poking fun at each other and joking around. The motley crew didn't realize that those couple of nights at Salt manor were going to be their last couple of nights of normalcy.

**A/N: Wow. It's been a while with this story. I know i don't update often, but that is because if i don't keep writing, i lose my motivation. Plus it's been pretty hectic lately. Anyway, with the death of Gene Wilder, i felt i needed to get a chapter of this out. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are appreciated.**


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